Category Archives: PPIW blog

Throughout the last 45 years the value of economic output has generally been lower in Wales than other UK countries and regions (see chart). By 2014, Gross Value Added (GVA) per head in Wales was 28 per cent below the UK average. In comparison, the Greater South East region –…

Last week the PPIW presented at the What Works Global Summit. Representatives from over forty countries gathered at this major international conference to discuss the state of evidence-informed policy and practice globally, as well as future challenges and opportunities. Our presentation on putting evidence to work for politicians in Wales…

Following on from the popularity of Lauren Carter-Davies’ blog – Engaging with the Policy-making and Scrutiny Process in Wales: How Does Research Get into the National Assembly for Wales? we asked Dave Mckenna, from Swansea Council, to explore how research can be used in the local government scrutiny process. Compared…

The report ‘Evidence Needs and the Welsh Education System’ released by the Public Policy Institute of Wales, focuses on understanding gaps in the evidence base and how it is used by policy makers and practitioners. It raises a number of important issues. Engaging practitioners with an evidence base One such…

This week’s guest blog comes from Michael Hodson, an undergraduate student at Cardiff University. As part of his three week placement with the PPIW over the summer Michael was asked to research the history of the Central Policy Review Staff, and what lessons it can offer the PPIW today. The…

In March PPIW celebrated its 2nd Anniversary. I was pleased to be asked to speak at the event, alongside a panel of fellow experts: Dr Victoria Winckler; Professor Chris Taylor; and Professor Laura McAllister. The question PPIW posed to us was: “What do you see as the incoming Welsh Government’s…

On 23 June, the UK voted to leave the European Union. The process for leaving and the implications for Wales are uncertain, but broadly speaking there are three forms that Brexit could take: Soft Brexit: Retain membership of the single market through the European Economic Area (EEA). The closest type…

On a visit to Beijing last year, I met the Chinese Vice-Minister for Rural Development. A jovial man, who looked back fondly on the two years he had spent living in Cardiff, he seemed unperturbed by his charge of lifting 36 million Chinese rural residents out of extreme poverty. In…

It’s hard to focus after a political earthquake. The vote to leave the European Union is a political earthquake of the highest magnitude. We are still in a period of many after-shocks. So what to make of this report about Welsh food policy from the Public Policy Institute for Wales…

With the national roll-out of the Universal Credit system at the start of this year, it is worth reminding ourselves of what we do and don’t know about the issue often used to justify the radical overhaul of the previous benefit system, intergenerational worklessness. Despite widespread claims, there is little…